5 B2B Content Marketing Trends to Watch in 2016 [Insights From Content Marketing World]

Last week, I attended Content Marketing World in Cleveland.

It was great to get out of the office and meet so many amazing content marketers. I also learned about some key trends that will impact B2B marketers in 2016.

Without further ado, here they are:

1. The most creative marketers will make time to play. 

The legendary John Cleese gave a keynote on creativity. He encouraged us to take time away from our busy schedules to play. He didn’t necessarily mean take a vacation or travel to some remote location. Instead, he talked about getting out of the office and going to a park. It’s about stepping away from your day-to-day responsibilities and letting your mind wander.

If you start to think about your to-do list during your playtime, you can write down your thoughts and refer to them later. You don’t want your task list to interrupt your play.  

2. Your subscribers will be your #1 metric. 

Several of the sessions that I attended talked about the importance of growing your subscriber base. However, many marketers don’t spend enough time building and nurturing subscribers.  According to the 2015 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report, only 30% of B2B marketers cited “subscriber growth” as a metric for success. 

Michael Brenner from NewsCred said that subscribers will be the #1 metric this year. After all, your subscribers will turn into your best customers. They are also the ones who regularly read and share your content.

3. More content equals more customers.

I’ve always believed that your content’s quality trumps its quantity. After all, you don’t want to sacrifice quality just for the sake of meeting a deadline. This won’t help you attract leads and turn them into customers.

However, quantity is also key.

Several speakers at Content Marketing World talked about the importance of publishing lots of content.  The 2015 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report also stated that 70% of B2B marketers are producing more content than they did one year ago.

The more content you produce, the more customers you will attract. Publishing consistently can get you more social shares, improve your SEO and bring more leads to your website.

However, I still believe that your content must be high-quality and resonate with your target audience. It takes extra planning, but it’s possible to balance quality with quantity.

4. 303 will be the new 404. 

In her session on repurposing content, Amy Higgins from Zendesk recommended reviving your old content. Your old content likely has a number of links from other sites. It also may rank high for certain keywords. You can make an out-of-date piece fresh by adding new images or updating your statistics.

However, don’t just delete pages with old content. This will send all your hard-earned links to a 404 page. If you must take content off your site, use a 303 to redirect visitors to your new content. This will keep visitors on your site and send them exactly where you want them to go.

5. B2B marketers will get real.

We usually go out of our way to hide our flaws. However, we can attract more customers by putting our weaknesses on display.

Doug Kessler from Velocity Partners said that customers will be more likely to believe your marketing if they see that you’re honest about your flaws. They appreciate it when you clearly state what your product can and can’t do. 

Doug shared this example from the Hans Brinkler Budget Hotel in Amsterdam:

By being honest about its pitfalls, the hotel won’t attract people who expect plush accommodations. As a B2B marketer, you can also go out of your way to alienate the wrong prospects. This will reduce your complaints and save your sales team the effort of following up with bad leads.

Another way to be honest is by coming out from behind your corporate wall. Rick Short from Indium Corporation recommended adding a personal touch to your blog. He suggested spending 10% of your posts talking about things that are personal to you – such as your hobbies. This helps readers relate to you. If they see you as a real person, they’ll be more likely to trust you when you talk about technical things.

Rick also recommended posting photos of your staff and bloggers across your website. The photos shouldn’t be too stylized. Using real photos makes your company relatable.

3 Ways to Apply This Information Now

1. Download the Content Repurposing Worksheet to plan how you will multiply the value of all your content.
2. Read “5 Ways World-Class B2B Marketers Rock Their Content” for more lessons from Content Marketing World.
3. Click to share this article on LinkedIn. Sharing quality content increases your visibility and credibility with your existing contacts, creating conversations and potentially new business.

About the Author

Rachel Foster is a B2B copywriter and the CEO of Fresh Perspective Copywriting. She helps B2B marketers improve their response rates, clearly communicate complex messages and generate high-quality leads. Rachel has shared her insights on B2B marketing in presentations for the Content Marketing Institute, Business 2 Community and MarketingProfs. She serves on the advisory board for the Canadian Association of Marketing Professionals and is one of the Online Marketing Institute's Top 40 Digital Strategists of 2014.  

You can connect with Rachel on LinkedIn, follow her on Twitter (@CopywriterTO) or check out her B2B marketing resources at www.freshperspectivewriting.com.